‘Very important to remember it was shared victory’ – top Russian diplomat ahead of WW2 anniversary

Attempts to falsify and rewrite the history of World War II are a dangerous path, a top Russian diplomat has warned, stressing that it is important to remember that the victory belongs to all the allies who fought Nazism.

As the world is
celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of the bloodiest
conflict in human history this year, radical elements in some
countries are trying to bring the ideologies that were fought
against back to life, Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative
for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov, told RT
in an interview on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately the Neo-Nazis feel more than comfortable in
Ukraine and this fact is extremely dangerous as it destabilizes
the situation in the country,” Dolgov said.

The diplomat stressed that these processes had been ongoing for a
long time, adding that “extremism, terrorism and neo-Nazism
as an extreme form of extremism have no national borders. And it
is easy for them to trespass from one county to another. So the
threat is common.”

Dolgov noted that certain forces in the West are currently
attempting to diminish Russia’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in
WWII, falsifying facts and heroizing the Nazis and their
accomplices.

“The reasons behind this trend are simply political. It is a
systematic, regular and a very dangerous path that many have
chosen - to falsify the history of WWII, to diminish the
conclusive role of the Soviet Union. It is very important to
remember that it was a shared victory, we were all on the same
side back then,” said the official adding that it must not
be forgotten that the USSR paid the highest price in the war,
both in human lives and material costs.

Dolgov’s statements echo the words of President Vladimir Putin,
who has repeatedly denounced attempts to ‘rewrite’ WWII history
and noted that the forces behind such attempts seek to use
historical speculation in geopolitical games and set entire
countries and peoples against each other.

In January, Putin said in a public speech that the people
attempting to rewrite history and hide the crimes of Nazism are
often attempting to deflect attention from their nations’
collaboration with Hitler.

“Direct attempts to silence history, to distort and rewrite
history are inadmissible and immoral. Behind these attempts often
lies the desire to hide one’s own disgrace, the disgrace of
cowardice, hypocrisy and treachery, the intent to justify the
direct or indirect collaboration with Nazism,” the Russian
president stated at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in
Moscow at an event dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the
liberation of Auschwitz.

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II,
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published a report: “Neo-Nazism
– a dangerous threat to human rights, democracy and the rule of
law.” Dolgov stressed that one of the aims of the report is
to raise awareness of the rise of neo-Nazi ideology and call for
other countries to find ways to battle the trend.

“This report is just a milestone in the overall work that is
being done, and not only by Russia but by other bodies including
human rights groups and other public organizations. We hope that
the report will be an additional factor in changing people’s
perception of what’s going on,” he concluded.